, as
if he took what his Highness had done in jest, said 'Mon Prince,--'.
(I forget the French words he used, the purport however was,) 'That's a
good joke; but we do it much better in England;' and threw a whole glass
of wine in the Prince's face. An old General who sat by, said, 'Il a
bien fait, mon Prince, vous l'avez commence:' and thus all ended in good
humour.

Dr. Johnson said, 'Pray, General, give us an account of the siege of
Belgrade.' Upon which the General, pouring a little wine upon the table,
described every thing with a wet finger: 'Here we were, here were the
Turks,' &c. &c. Johnson listened with the closest attention.

A question was started, how far people who disagree in a capital point
can live in friendship together. Johnson said they might. Goldsmith said
they could not, as they had not the idem velle atque idem nolle--the
same likings and the same aversions. JOHNSON. 'Why, Sir, you must shun
the subject as to which you disagree. For instance, I can live very
well with Burke: I love his knowledge, his genius, his diffusion, and
affluence of conversation; but I would not talk to him of the Rockingham
party.' GOLDSMITH. 'But, Sir, when people live together who have
something as to which they disagree, and which they want to shun, they
will be in the situation mentioned in the story of Bluebeard: "You may
look into all the chambers but one." But we should have the greatest
inclination to look into that chamber, to talk of that subject.'
JOHNSON. (with a loud voice,) 'Sir, I am not saying that YOU could live
in friendship with a man from whom you differ as to some point: I am
only saying that I could do it. You put me in mind of Sappho in Ovid.'

Goldsmith told us, that he was now busy in writing a natural history,
and, that he might have full leisure for it, he had taken lodgings, at a
farmer's house, near to the six milestone, on the Edgeware road, and
had carried down his books in two returned post-chaises. He said, he
believed the farmer's family thought him an odd character, similar to
that in which the Spectator appeared to his landlady and her children:
he was The Gentleman. Mr. Mickle, the translator of The Lusiad, and I
went to visit him at this place a few days afterwards. He was not at
home; but having a curiosity to see his apartment, we went in and found
curious scraps of descriptions of animals, scrawled upon the wall with a
black lead pencil.

On Saturday, April 11, he appointed me t